This isn't working...am I getting it right?

[Corsair]

Finally, somewhere I can ask real people a question...creatine-related. Any help appreciated...

Alright, the long and short is I'm a pretty typical hard gainer - not a lot of body mass, small bone structure, and fed up with it. I weigh 135 pounds soaking wet.

I'm an Ice Hockey goalie, so fitness has always been a major thing with me, but I only developed an interest in building muscle a few years ago.

The problem is this - two years after I started lifting - and properly, according to what I've read - I'm basically getting nowhere. I have no more muscle now than I did after my first 6 months of training, and it's pissing me off. So, after diet modification, protein supplements, altering my workout, I caved in, and bought some pure creatine monohydrate powder...and...3 weeks later...nothing at all.

I've been supplementing with ten grams (15 grams on days I work out) per day of creatine, usually mixed with warm-ish water, but I throw it in welch's frozen concentrated grape juice on the days I work out for that supposed extra absorbtion due to the insulin spike.

At any rate - am I doing this wrong?

Is there something I missed?

Have I not given it enough time to work, since I'm not loading 20 grams per day?

Or am I one of those classic hard-gainers for whom nothing works, and I should stop wasting my money?

Any feedback really appreciated. I've read alot of sites, and I *think* I'm getting it right, but some experienced feedback would help me. My wallet thanks you too.

 

[Tank316]

welcome to IM .looks like you did it right, but could you post your work out and diet please.i wasted money on loading phases, you really shouldnt have to.JMHO.

 

[Arnold]

Let's see your daily diet and training routine.

 

[Corsair]

Thanks for the welcome.

 

[Corsair]

whoops, forgort the message body...

I mostly have gone for the shock effect - large ammounts of calories, primarily in the form of complex carbohydrates, and protein. Chicken breasts, whey isolate, pasta, the works.

Being a hockey player, at a pretty hgih level too, I've learned the benefits of proper eating, at least in terms of what works for an endurance sport like hockey.

I tried cycling lower/higher calorie days, as wel las alternating the percentages of protein/carbs. Generally the one gram protein per one pound body weight routine.

At any rate, perhaps I was expecting too much of creatine, but this muscle hydration I read so much about seems non-existent. No size increase, no noticeable strength increase.

I was always a person who was sore for 2-3 days after a hard work out, and that length of time *has* decreased since I started creatine supplementation, but that's all.

Any guides? Help?

 

[Arnold]

Well, you seem to be focused on the creatine, if you have gained no size in 2 years of training I am much more concerned about your diet and training.

Some people do not respond to creatine and you may be one of them. What brand is it?

If you have not gained any weight/size then one thing that is obvious is you're not eating enough calories. Do you have any type of consistent daily diet that you follow or have followed for any length of time? If so, post it.

Also, you did not post any training routine, do you have one that you follow?

 

[Corsair]

To tell you the truth, I did at one time follow a high calorie diet consistently, but gained more body fat than muscle - something I thought impossible for a small guy such as myself. At the time, I wasn't terribly knowledgeable about what to eat, but the complex carb route of pastas and red meat only ended up putting inches on my waist and not where they should have been. I'm rather hesitant to load up on calories to a *huge* extent due to the fact that I still have a little (but not much) extra weight left over from that experiment last year.

In terms of training, I tend to break things down simply into upper body/lower body days, as my time with my hockey team seldom leaves me time to work only a few groups at a time. I know what I'm doing isn't the best way to go about this, but practical time constraints don't allow me the luxury of much else. I tend to focus on 6-8 reps of very heavy weights.

The creatine I take is produced by a company called Jagr, based out of the city I live in, Vancouver, in Canada. According to the guy who runs the store I go to (and I know him personally, so I doubt he'd sell me trash) it's quite effective. 100% pure and all. Like I said, I dissolve it in about 3/4 of a liter of warm water, and drink it down, or take it in concentrated grape juice.

Perhaps I missed something in all the reviews I read about creatine, but I never ONCE saw article mention that a large ammount of calories, or even any sort of special nutrition at all was required for creatine to function. Merely proper exercise, and consumption of the right ammounts of creatine.

In short, perhaps I'm overloaded with information, but regardless, I need to find out if I'm blowing 40-50$ on this stuff. Being a university student means precious little money, and whey protein of good quality is expensive enough! I'd like to get it working, but I'm not sure if it will.

 

[Corsair]

Anyone have any feedback for me?

More or less, I'm trying to find out if I'm wasting my money on creatine.

I know diet/routine play the largest part in building muscle, I'm not denying that.

What I'm simply seeing is that the creatine, in and of itself, is seemingly having no effect whatsoever. No FAQ on creatine I've ever seen mentions creatine having to be consumed with certain kinds or ammounts of food.

Following the directions, I see no results, so...

comments?

 

[andy51]

you could possibly be overtraining with hockey and working out. You probably won't see gains if you are actually overtraining.

I'm not the most knowledgeable so if anyone else has anything to add please do so

 

[Arnold]

Originally posted by Corsair
To tell you the truth, I did at one time follow a high calorie diet consistently, but gained more body fat than muscle - something I thought impossible for a small guy such as myself. At the time, I wasn't terribly knowledgeable about what to eat, but the complex carb route of pastas and red meat only ended up putting inches on my waist and not where they should have been. I'm rather hesitant to load up on calories to a *huge* extent due to the fact that I still have a little (but not much) extra weight left over from that experiment last year.

This high calorie diet, were you eating 6 times per day?
Were you consuming at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight? Were you eating high quality proteins?

When you train, what type and how many exercises, sets, reps are you doing?

 

[Corsair]

Well, of late, I've been compiling everything into mostly upper, or lower body days.

I mostly focus on upper body, as my legs get a heck of a workout from hockey.

Upper body, I start on pecs, generally straight benchpresses first, the bar plus a 45-pounder on either side, and I can handle three sets of eight.

I do presses on a 45 degree decline and then incline next, usually with dumbells instead of the bar. 45 pounds per side.

Triceps next, usually a shorter-length bar with 25-pounders per side.

Biceps next, with the same set-up as the triceps.

Finally, I round it out with shoulder exercises using 30 pounders.

I work my back on seperate days.

Understand that except for some exceptionally minor flesh on the center of the midsection, I'm a very much in shape guy. Run/jog 5k, no problem.

But to give you an idea of my actual *size*, I mean, my wrist for example - it's TOTAL circumference (not diameter) is ONLY 6.3 inches. I mean, that sort of shows you just what a small bone structure I have. I don't expect to have Hercules muscles!